Mrs. Dowler was born Oct. 9, 1943, in Red Cliff, the daughter of Loren and Margaret Anderson. She spent her early years in Leadville and later attended schools in Telluride and Durango.

While in high school, she met her future husband, Ronald Dowler, and they were married in November 1961. They stayed in Durango for a short time before moving to Denver and later to Frisco. Mr. Dowler started to work for the Colorado Department of Transportation, and the Dowlers moved back to the Durango area.

Mrs. Dowler was a homemaker, raising the couple’s two children. She also was a bus driver for Durango School District 9-R. Beginning in the early 1980s, she worked for many years as a checker at north City Market. She later worked at Circle K and the Red Mesa Bakery.

Mrs. Dowler loved animals – mostly dogs and cats – but her real passion was horses and horseback riding, her family said. She also enjoyed cooking, sewing and making crafts. She had collections of roosters and porcelain shoes and enjoyed watching the television shows “NCIS” and “CSI.”

Mrs. Dowler is survived by her husband, Ron Dowler of Hesperus; son, Duane Dowler of Hesperus; daughter, Karey DeMarte of Denver; mother, Margaret Anderson of Grand Junction; and two grandsons.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Durango. Cremation will occur at Hood Mortuary Crematory in Durango.